Footprints of War
by HatakeKaede-san
Summary: It's time that the young generation of wizards and witches learned about events that transpired during the 2nd war against Voldemort. And they shouldn't hear it from Professor Binns or Rita Skeeter. Lee Jordan presents Footprints of War.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **It's time that the young generation of wizards and witches learned about events that transpired during the 2nd war against Voldemort. And they shouldn't hear it from Professor Binns or Rita Skeeter. Lee Jordan presents Footprints of War.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter.

**A/N:** I have been thinking about writing this kind of story for a long time now. Originally I wanted to write it as excerpts from the Daily Prophet or from The Quibbler in the days shortly after the war, but in the end this seemed like a better idea.

**Footprints of War**

"Good afternoon, wizarding Britain, good afternoon wizarding world! My name is Lee Jordan and I will be your host today with our brand new show Footprints of War. Some of you might remember me as River, the former host of Potterwatch, your only reliable source of news during the dark days of the 2nd war against Voldemort, You-Know-Who, He Who Must Not Be Named or as I prefer to call him, either Moldywart or He Who Had No Nose. But anyway back to the topic of our show, over the span of the next few weeks or maybe months we will be looking back at the very days in which yours truly and a bunch of other, if not quite as significant, fellows fought against the darkest Lord of them all. It is a story that deserves to be told and our youth needs to hear it without dying from boredom inflicted upon their innocent souls by the lovely professor Binns and from a more reliable source than Rita Skeeter. And by the way if you happened to come across her new book about Dumbledore's Army, please use this book for it's only appopriate purpose, that is when you happen to run out of toiler paper. I assure you that the pages are quite soft and believe me I never did actually snog Angelina Weasley, nee Johnson. Anyway, moving on to our first interesting guest of many to come. Ladies and genlemen, Grendel Ganser, a magical historian and writer of several books about magical Britain in the second part of last century. Welcome, Gren."

"Thank you, Lee. I'm really glad to be here today."

"I assure our listeners that we have funnier editions of this programme in store for you. I'll let you guys infer who the guests might be for that one. But given the topic, it felt more appropriate to start on a more serious note. So please, bear with us, believe me you will be rewarded in the end. No offense, Gren."

"None taken. There aren't many people who take interest in history. And we have to understand that the events that transpired at the end of the last century very much constitute history for the young generation of witches and wizards today. Even those whose lives were in some way directly affected by what happened don't have those memories like those of us who faced the terror years. They might dream of the what ifs and could have beens and of course their lives might not have been the easiest. But nonetheless I believe that even those of them who were hit hardest by the tragedy would conclude that they have lead good lives in a safe world so far. They don't have the knowledge of living in fear like our generation or the generations before us had."

"Why do you believe that the young witches and wizards of today should listen to our programme and learn about things that happened when they were small children or even before they were born?"

"Well, I am sure that there are those whose lives were in some way affected and who are currently listening, holding their breaths for an uncensured version of the events unlike the one they usually hear from their close ones. Here I'd like to say hello to my sons Doran and Devan, who are listening, I am sure. On a larger scale, the answer to this question happens to be very simple. In order to prevent similar events in the future. After Voldemort was defeated the first time around the wizarding community was quick to accept his fall as permanent. Our world wanted him to be dead and done for so much, that most spent a whole year denying his return. With the exception of Albus Dumbledore and those loyal to him, of course."

"Do you think that had the unfortunate minister Fudge and his cohorts accepted that Loldywart was back right after the murder of Cedric Diggory things would have gone differently?"

"Well, Lee, it's always difficult to determine what could have been if... But it is my deepest belief that if nothing else, at least some of the causalties on our side could have been prevented. Had we all connected our powers right at the start...instead the Order of the Phoenix had to deal with opposition from the Ministry on top of fighting Voldemort and his supporters for almost a year after his return."

"Never trust byrocrats, I suppose. Were the wizarding world faced with a similar threat today, has the Ministry changed enough to prevent a similar disaster?"

"Well, with so many notable veterans of the war in charge one would expect so. It is difficult to imagine that after their own experiences Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry Potter or Hermione Granger would act similarly to Fudge."

"Now, moving on to the next question and I am particularly curious about the answer here. Plans for this programme have been long in the making, but it was you who insisted that we should start this year and on this particular day. Why? I mean we could have chosen prominent days such as the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. So why today?"

"Oh, but today is also an important anniversary. Today is the day when the Ministry fell. The exact date of the sart of the war is widely disputed and you could even go as far back as Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts and the not very widely known attempt of Voldemot's to come back, you might choose the death of Cedric Diggory or about a dozen other times or you might even say that the first war never properly ended. Personally I'm in favour of taking today's date. Yes, Voldemort had been back much longer and there had been squirmishes and victims in the first two years, but today marks the day when he and his supporters declared war openly. And as for the year. Well, today maks exactly seventeen years since the Ministry fell. The number of years that it takes for a wizard or witch to be considered an adult. It's time that the story was told."

"Thank you very much for this in depth explanation, Gren. Now we have some time to take a question from our listeners. If you have a question, all you have to do is to tap the wireless with your wand and say Mad-Eye..."

"Hello?"

"It seems we already have our first question, Lee."

"Well, hello there, what's your name?"

"I'm Mack."

"Hi, Mack. How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen."

"Ahh, good year for sure. What is your question, Mack?"

"Well, I've been wondering, what did you two do during the war?"

"Excellent question, Mack. Would you like to start, Gren?"

"You go ahead, Lee. I believe your story is longer and more interesting than mine."

"If you say so. So, Mack, I suppose you could say I have been there from the very start. I joined the very first Dumbledore's Army, which at that time pretty much only meant that I was taking extra Defense against the Dark Magic lessons, from Harry Potter no less. We were trying to prepare ouselves if we had to fight eventually. We were just a bunch of kids, some as young as fourteen then, but almost all of us ended up fighting in the final battle. And sadly some of them did not live to see the victory. After I finished school I more or less joined the Order of the Phoenix. I suppose you could think of the DA as a sort of junior organisation to the Order. When the Ministry and media were taken over, we created this show called Potterwatch with some of my friends. We tried to provide information to those resisting that they could not gain anywhere else. It might sound strange to you, but we also ended up having a lot of fun. In the end, two of us didn't make it in the final battle, one became the Minister for Magic and one is the owner of the most famous joke shop in the wizarding world and then there's me."

"Well, I believe you are pretty cool too, Lee."

"Ha, thanks, Gren. So what about you? What were you doing in the days that Moldywart's shadow hung over our heads? Except having your head burrowed in books?"

"Well, I am afraid that my story is nowhere near as impressive as yours. I was only in my 2nd year when Vodemort came back. And being the diligent little Hufflepuff I stayed away from much of the happenings on orders from my mom. Not that she didn't believe Potter and Dumbledore. Quiet the oppoiste, in fact. She just feared for my life. It all changed in my 5th year when the Death Eaters took over Hogwarts. With wee 1st years being subjected to the Cruciatus curse for small offenses, I could no longer hold myself back. I joined the 2nd Dumbledore's Army, which under Neville Longbottom's command, and yes Mack, that is the very same Longbottom as your current Herbology teacher, came a bit closer to being an actual army. Although we mostly tried proecting the small ones, taking the hits for them and we also did quite a bit of graffity. Of course, when the final battle came around, being underage I was between the students that were evacuated from the grounds."

"Oh, but I know that's not the story ends, Gren."

"Jordan, you really want my mother to murder me, don't you? Ahh, well, no, it didn't end there. With several kids from the DA we sneaked back into the castle and took part in the final battle. Mom, if you are listening, I am so sorry."

"Well, Gren, I am sure she is proud of you."

"Oh, no, she's pissed, I'm sure. So would be I if Doran and Devan did something similar. Fifteen of us sneaked back, only ten lived to see today."

"And you were just fifteen then?"

"Yes, Mack. A few days short of sixteen. Wasn't even the youngest, Lace was fourteen I believe. The bravest girl I ever knew."

"Wow, you guys are so cool."

"Thank you, Mack. And I'm sorry, my dear listeners, but it seems we ran out of time. We will have to make place for some more of Celestina Warbeck. However don't despair, Footprints of War will be back over the span of the next few weeks or maybe months, it's hard to tell as we're making it up as we go, with more stories and special guests. For now, thank you for listening and thank you, Gren for coming today, your insight was much appreciated. Be safe and remember that your safety has been warranted by many who gave their lives for the world you live in today."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** It's time that the young generation of wizards and witches learned about events that transpired during the 2nd war against Voldemort. And they shouldn't hear it from Professor Binns or Rita Skeeter. Lee Jordan presents Footprints of War.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: You know, I had this chapter playing out in my head as I was falling asleep last night, but it sounded different and much better in my head than it will here. So many good lines got lost after I fell asleep. But I've tried my best to recall most of them.

**TheDarkKunoichi: **Thanks for the review! Well, what I meant to say is that I am making it up as I go, very much like Lee and that I don't really know how far inbetween the updates will be, how long this fic will be (there's a lot of stuff it could potentially cover) and so on. But look you get an update already on the next day, haha. And I can tell you for sure that the next one won't come earlier than next Tueday though.

**uratwat: **Thanks a lot!

**DealiaDee:** Thank youu for the review, as well a she great suggestion. I will make sure to use it for one particular special edition of Footprints of War. Three guesses what that one will be about, haha.

**Footprints of War**

"Greetings, my fellow wizards and witches, my name is Lee Jordan, some of you might know me as River and this afternoon I am back with the second edition of our brand new show Footprints of War. You will have to excuse us for coming back on air so late after our first show, but we ran into some scheduling isues with our guests. But the important thing is that we are back today. Most of you probably know the drill by now, but for those innocent souls who are by some kind of accident listening for the first time today, over the span of the next few weeks we will be looking back at the events, which transpired at the end of the last century. We will cover the period of the dark times in the days before Harry Potter thwarted Lord Moldywart's pants. So, if you would like to reminiscence without restraining yourselves from attempting to murder a certain not so lovely reporter or if you finally want to learn the whole truth, stay tuned in over the next hour. And yes, you did hear correctly, we will be on air for one whole hour today, after the success of our very first programme, Celestina Warbeck had to move along to make room for us this time around. Anyway, my dear listeners, buckle your seats, because today we are in for a ride crazier than a night trip on the Knight Bus as we cover the topic of Dumbledore's Army. Our special guest today is noone else than your favourite Herbology professor at Hogwarts Neville Longbottom. Welcome, Neville!"

"Thanks, Lee."

"So, Neville, before we dive deep into your Hogwart years and the DA, tell us a few things about you. After all, your He Who Had No Nose story started much earlier than the second war came knocking on our doors and you happen to share quite a lot with Harry Potter, and by that I don't just mean that you guys were both born on the very same day."

"Well, I did share a bedroom with Harry for six years."

"Very funny, mate. I am sure that were Rita Skeeter here, her quill would be going at it million miles an hour trying to uncover the shenanigans that went on in Harry Potter's dorm room. But given that we consider ourselves to be a far more serious and reliable source of news, I am sure that you will understand that I was aiming for something a tiny bit different."

"Well, then ask more specific questions."

"Okay. I will start with one very personal question in particular. One of the things you and Harry share is that both your parents fell victim in the first war. Everyone in the wizarding world knows that James and Lily Potter were murdered by Voldemort. But what about the fate of Frank and Alice Longbottom? I might be going too far with this question, but I maintain that people need to know."

"Oh, not at all. There was a time when I wouldn't want this particular story to be heard. A time when I was ashamed of my parents or rather what became of them. But over the years I learned that the one whom I should be ashamed of was myself. My parents deserved a son who was proud of them, not one that was wallowing in shame and self-pity. The reason why it isn't widely known that they were victims in the first war, is because they are both very much alive. I have known them my whole life, yet in all those years I have never seen a glimmer of recognition in their faces. They don't seem to realise that I am their son. They are very much alive, but they live in a world of their own, in a shell that can not be accessed from the outside."

"I know this is a sensitive topic for you, but could you explain what actually happened to them?"

"They were hunted down by a group of Death Eaters headed by the Lestranges and tortured with the Cruciatus curse until they broke on the inside..."

"Why do you think their story needs to be told today?"

"I think it's important, so that people understand what kind of people Voldemort attracted. I mean, Voldemort himself might have been a power hungry, muggle hating bastard, but you could claim that some of his supporters were even crazier than him. People like Bellatrix Lestrange or the Carrows who took joy in inflicting pain upon people."

"Well, luckily Bellatrix Lestrange won't be able to hurt anyone anymore. We all have Mrs. Molly Weasley to thank for that. Neville, do you still remember the words that the Weasley matriarch spoke before ridding us of Bella?"

"Of course, how could I forget."

"Would you care to share those words with our audience? Parents, guardians, if anyone under the age of ten is listening this might be a good time to cover their ears."

"Well, okay, not my daughter, you bitch is what she said."

"And quite right so. But there's one further thing about your parents. The Death Eater's attack came after Harry Potter defeated Voldemort the first time around. Was it pure revenge that motivated Bellatrix and co. or was there something depper?"

"It had to do with the fact that they were opposing Voldemort, but I can't say more than that."

"But you know the whole truth."

"Yes."

"And won't share it with us."

"Correct. It is a story that can only be told by one person alive and his name isn't Neville Longbottom."

"Oh, well, okay, in that case I will try to pry the story from Potter if I manage to drag his arse here one of these days. Anyway, moving on. You already mentioned the Carrows, the unfortunate siblings who terrorised Hogwarts during your seventh year. That brings me to the topic that we are actually here today to discuss. Dumbledore's Army. And another similarity between you and Harry Potter, you happen to be one of the few people who opposed Voldemort openly to his face. I for one will never forget your battle cry of Dumbledore's Army when he offered you to join his forces. I am sure that your students had no idea how cool you actually were. And now they will finally learn. I'm sure there's quite the number of young impressionable girls developing a crush on their valiant Herbology teacher. Oh, what's up with that blush, Nev? What would Hannah say?"

"Shut...up!"

"Ok, ok, calm down, mate and give that wand away."

"I'd like to let you know that I learned the Bat-Bogey hex from the one person who mastered it the best, so you will stay on topic, Lee Jordan, or I swear..."

"Now, is this how you give an example to your students?"

"One more word and I swear...besides, I doubt most of them are even listening."

"And see, that's exactly where you are wrong. Actually they are all currently sitting in the Grreat Hall of Hogwarts and listening intently. After our first programme we consulted this with the headmaster and it was decided that our show was made to be a part of the Hogwarts curriculum. So, hello Hogwarts!"

"And you seem to be more gleeful than you ought to be that all of them are listening."

"Well, I must confess that it does bring back some memories. And it's nice to have them listening without McGonagall constatnly behind my back. It's not like she's gonna pop up here anytime and stop me."

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on it."

"You know, Nev, I actually feel quite sorry for you right now."

"Why is that?"

"Well, with a gazillion Weasley grandchildren in Hogwarts or on their way there, life must be hard for you. So many troublemakers, so little time. And the worse is only to come, James Potter and Fred Weasley are already starting to pack their luggage full of pranks to pull."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I've had fairly good practice."

"Oh?"

"Well, I didn't survive six years of being Ted Lupin's head of house for nothing."

"Well, I am sure that at least Miss Victoire Weasley is a perfectly well behaved young lady...did you just snort, Nev?"

"Definitely not. Anyway, Lee, you do remember that we are here to talk about the DA, don't you?"

"Of course, I do. But a little banter never killed anyone."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Whatever. Anyway, so Dumbledore's Army, we have already touched upon this topic in out first show with Grendel Ganser, who had a bit to tell about the second DA and I have mentioned my own adventures with the first one. But you happen to be one of the few people who had the privilege to star as a part of both DAs and you are a veteran of battles that only a select few of the DA took part in. So would you care to introduce the concept of both the DAs to us, Neville?"

"Of course. As has previouslly been mentioned, the DA started as a group of students from different houses, who were taking Defense against the Dark Arts lessons from Harry Potter. This was a time when the most unpleasant woman alive, Dolores Umbridge, was imposed on us as the DADA teacher and all our regular lessons were relagted to reading a silly book. As this was a time when Voldemort was already back, we believed that we needed to learn how to defnd ourselves. And who could be a better teacher than someone who had already faced Voldemort and similar threats long before? We would meet every week or so, we had this method of communication, galleons that were charmed by Hermione Granger, so Harry could let us know when the next meeting was."

"And Hermione did this charm in her fifth year, the smartest witch alive for sure."

"Well, little Rose Weasley might come to challenge her in the next few years."

"Oh I dunno. She did inherit one half of her genes from Ickle Ronniekins after all, that poor thing."

"Anyway, the DA continued it's activities until we were discovered by Umbridge..."

"It sucks when your secret organisation has a sneak in their ranks."

"Yes, it sure does."

"But your adventures in your fifth year didn't end with the DA being disbanded, did it?"

"No, together with a few more members of the DA we fought in the Battle of the Deparment of Mysteries, the one in which Sirius Black died."

"And even though the DA didn't continue it's activities, you ended up finding yourself in yet another battle."

"Yes, even though the DA seemed to be done for, I kept checking my coin. Me and Luna Lovegood did and that's how we both ended up fighting in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower."

"So, why was it that Luna, who by the way isn't as crazy as you think, but who is even crazier than that, but in a good way and I am saying it with as much affection as I can muster, and you in particular ended up checking he coin?"

"Well, for four years at Hogwarts, herbology had been my only refuge and suddenly here I was at the DA, where I finally had a bunch of friends and had a way to make my parents proud."

"Now, I'd like to move on to the part of the history of the DA, about which I'm the most intrigued as I didn't have the privilege to be a part of it. The DA that was much less extra lessons with Potter and much more like an army under your very command according to Grendel Ganser."

"Well, that might be stretching a bit too far."

"So, how did this second DA arise?"

"Well, the Hogwarts I came back to in my seventh year was very different than from the one you knew. With Snape as headmaster, and even though he ended up being on our side he was playing his part of being under Voldemort's control a bit too well and with the Carrows handing out the punishments it had turned to hell for most of us. Of course, there were plenty of students that didn't even get to return for those years, the muggle borns on the run or Harry, Ron and Hermione on a mission of their own. So together with Luna and Ginny Weasley and some other original members we started our own rebellion. We tried to attract as much attention as possible to ourselves, so the younger students wouldn't come in harm's way. We also did quite a lot of protest graffity. And we also continued with the DADA lessons."

"But the Carrows didn't let such rebellion go unpunished, did they?"

"Of course not. Most of us got our own experience with the Cruciatus and Mr. Filch got to enjoy some detention techniques that were long forbidden before that. Also things got kinda hard as we lost Luna and Ginny during the year. And in the end they tried to get me too. Even went after my Gran. Of course they didn't realise that they chose the wrong old lady to pick a bone with. But even though she escaped, I couldn't continue to live at Hogwarts openly, so I hid myself in he Room of Requirement. Another few people joined me right the next day. And by the end all of us were living there. Until the day that Harry came back to Hogwarts."

"The day of the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Yes."

"And all of the DA fought in the Battle?"

"Well, all of us who were seventeen were allowed to stay and fight alongside the teachers and the Order of the Phoenix. The younger ones were supposed to be evacuated to Hogsmeade. But some of them did come back."

"You still seem bitter about this."

"Well...I will never be able to delete the images of Colin Creevey's dead eyes staring back at me or of the broken body of Lace Gosworth from my memory."

"Neither will I, mate. But your heroism didn't end with the first battle. Even when Harry Potter was thought to be dead, you still stood up to Voldemort. And you killed he snake."

"Yes, I killed his snake. Nagini."

"Why?"

"Because Harry gave me the order."

"Before he went to die?"

"Yes."

"Do you know why he wanted you to kill the snake?"

"Yes, and I can say that it was important in order for Voldemort to fall. But this is another story that can only be told by Harry in its whole."

"So, why do you know it?"

"Because Harry told me...he thought I deserved to know."

"Why?"

"That's a question you'll have to ask him."

"You're being most mysterious, mate. But alright, it seems we have exhausted the time for our show once again. Thank you very much, Neville and have another great year at Hogwarts. I'm sure that the official Professor Neville Longbottom fanclub has grown in its numbers over the course of today's edition of Footprints of War."

"Stop it."

"Oh, don't be so shy, Neville. Anyway, my dear listeners, do not despair, Footprints of War will be back together with your favourite host and the most illuminating of guests at some currently undefined point in the future. Signing off, Lee Jordan."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter.

**A/N**: Thank you for reading, reviewing or whatever :)

**Chapter III**

"Greetings, my dear audience. You have just finished listening to the world premiere of Weird Sisters' newest hit 'A Cauldron full of your eyes'. The first single of their come back album 'Not QUite Dead as an Inferi'. I hope you all are as happy as me that our favourite band is back again. I have to say that listening to these guys surely brings a lot of nostalgic memories of my youthful days, ahh..."

"Most of which better not be mentioned on radio in case some innocent souls are listening."

"Hey, you're not supposed to be talking yet. I haven't introduced you yet,have I?"

"Well with the pace you have chosen tonight I was afraid you'd never actually get to the point."

"It's supposed to increase the audience's excitement. Anyaway, as much as I'm sure we all enjoyed the Weird Sisters, I have brought you a far more exciting premiere tonight. My name is Lee Jordan and you are listening to the third installment of Footprints of War. The only show out there where you can learn what truly happened in the Second wizarding war against Him Who Had No Nose straight from the mouths of the war's protagonists. I'd wager to say that based on his beautiful deep voice you all already know our today's guest as he has made his name quite known especially in the days after the war. But since this has to be done, welcome Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic or as I have always known him Royal. Welcome, Minister."

"Where's this sudden formality coming from, Jordan?"

"Well, we are a serious show, so I have no other choice. Anyaway, as I am sure that you are a very busy man, minister, I believe it's about time we finally got to the point where we talk about the events we came here to discuss in the first place. I'd say that you don't need to introduce yourself, but I believe that the days before you became everyone's favourite Minister remain a secret to many of our listeners, so tell us, where did it all start?"

"It all started at Hogwarts, where else? I don't have much to say about that. I don't think the audience is actually interested in my early years..."

"Oh, I believe you're wrong, I'm sure there's many a witch who would be interested in hearing all about our valiant minister who despite the interest of many still remains single."

"Maybe. But nothing I could offer them would hold their interest as much as a Rita Skeeter book. So maybe we should get to actually talking about the war. I thought this was supposed to be an educational show, Jordan."

"If you insist, Minister. So the war, where did that start for you?"

"In the summer of, what was it, 1995, shortly after the Triwizard Tournament and the murder of Cedric Diggory when Albus Dumbledore recruited me to the reforming Order of the Phoenix..."

"Before you continue with your story could you please explain what exactly the Order of the Phoenix was?"

"Sure. The Order was a secret organisation formed by Dumbledore, basically a group of wizards that fought against Voldemort. It was first formed during the first war against him. But as the majority of its members were killed like the Prewett brothers or the Potters or were otherwise incapitated like the Longbottoms, when it was formed anew in the summer of 95' only a few of the original members remained. Which is why Dumbledore decided to look for people loyal to his cause inside the Auror Department."

"Yes, as you have forgotten to mention this, our Minister was already a high ranking auror by this time. Were you the only auror recruited by Dumbledore?"

"No, there were two of us. The other one being Nymphadora Tonks, who was a junior auror at that time."

"And how did you support the activities of the Order?"

"Well, I maintain that most of that information should remain secret for the safety of everyone. However, as already has been mentioned in your previous shows, the time shortly after Voldemort's return was a time when we didn't only have to fight Voldemort and his followers, but even the Ministry itself. Therefore we did all we could from inside the Ministry. I suppose you could say we were spies."

"As illuminating as all that is, could you provide a more specific example of how you helped out?"

"Well, at that time I happened to be in charge of the hunt for Sirius Black, who as we all know today was innocent and was helping in the Order's efforts. I have to say we had quite a lot of fun thinking of new places where he could pop up in my invesigations during our fireside conversations with him, Remus Lupin and Tonks."

"You say that somewhat bitersweetly."

"Well, it's understandable as all of them lost their lifes in the war. But I suppose the best we can do is to remember the good times."

"Aye. I can agree on that."

"When Voldemort's return was finally acknowledged by the Ministry an Scrimgeour took over, you were given the task of proecting the muggle prime minister. Did your involvement in the Order's activities continue even after this?"

"Of course, although my abilities to help the Order became somewhat limited. Nevertheless I gave a helping hand whenever I could and continued to feed the Order information."

"The memory of your Patronus at Bill and Fleur Weasley's wedding which brought us the news about the Ministry's falls still gives me chills. Anyway, you were among the last few members of the Order standing even after the Battle of Hogwarts, how would you describe this particular battle?"

"Surely the hardest battle I had to face in my life, I barely escapted death at least a dozen times that night. The memory of it all is even harsher when you take into consideration that many of my close friends weren't quite as lucky."

"But even before the battle, you faced mortal danger when you were attacked by a group of Death Eaters and you became quite famous between the resistance movements then."

"Yes, I did have the pleasure of taking down a few of them while I was on the run. This attack proved to be very important later on as it helped us find out that there was a trace put on Voldemort's name, which allowed them to take us out one by one."

"In your case, many of our fans might be even more inteested in what happened in the days shortly after the war rather than before or during it. Could you give us some insight into the days when you were appointed temporary Minister for magic after Voldemort's downfall? How did you even get into this position?"

"Well my appointment was a decision taken by the few remaining senior members of the Order of the Phoenix and the few people at the Ministry who were not cooperating with the Death Eaters. The first few days following the war were especially hard and I think I never felt as exhausted as then. Both the Ministry and our society were in shambles. We had to give it our all, so that it could rebuild. Combine that with all the burials and memorials held for the victims. I have to admit that I felt emotionally drained in those days."

"And you had to look for reinforcements in unusual places, didn't you? Recruiting Harry Potter and Ron Weasley to your auror department despite the fact that neither of them had reached their NEWTs yet, albeit both of them proved themselves in real life. Were you confident that they could take the job?"

"Yes, there was no doubt in my mind. I had seen them both show more courage and skills than many of my auror colleagues ever did. And I'm not even saying that my colleagues were lacking in courage or skill. Also, we were so short on people then that I even tried recruiting some other people to join us. Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger for example, but they prefered to finish their education and choose a different career path."

"One subject we haven't mentioned yet, is your involvement in Potterwatch."

"Ah, yes, the good old radio programme which allowed me to get to know you. I'm sure this is the reason why you mention it."

"If you're going to be such a prat about it, I will leave this topic out. We have an edition of Footprints of War devoted solely to Potterwatch in the works anyway. It's almost about time we made place for the next programme anyway. One last question, this time looking in the future. Where does the current Minister see himself in five or ten years? Still competing for the title of the longest running Minister?"

"Well, I was never very good at divination, so I'd rather leave this topic untouched."

"As you wish. Thank you very much for comming, Minister. And ladies and gentlemen a huge thank you to you all for listening to our show today. Be safe and don't forget tha Footprints of War will be back one of these days...Eventually. Lee Jordan, signing off.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Harry Potter.

**A/N: **First of all, thank you for reading/favouriting/alerting/reviewing/whatever this story. Second of all, I am sorry that a new chapter comes this late, but to be fair I did kind of warn you in the first chapter.

**Chapter IV**

"My dear fellow witches and wizards you have just finished listening to our live coverage of the exhibition game between the quidditch teams of England and Wales. It's been a fun ride, but now sport has to move along in favour of more serious matters at hand. My name is Lee Jordan and after a drought that has been several weeks or maybe even months long I am back as your favourite presenter of the one and only show 'Footprints of War'. This right here is where you can finally learn about the events that transpired when Harry Potter thwarted Moldywart's pants for good...we hope at least...and of course there's the most illuminating of guests accompanying our broadcast today. But first, let's relive some of the atmosphere from those dark days as we listen to Dean Thomas' ballad 'On the Run', which he wrote during the months that he was hiding from Death Eaters, the Ministry and the snatchers."

"Well, that was our dear Dean. I have to say that he might have unsuccessfully tried to make it when it comes to Quidditch, but dude can seriously sing his chops off. I definitely believe he should stick to the microphone instead of the broom. What does our guest think? Ladies and gentlemen and whoever else is listening, the one and only, Hermione Weasley, nee Granger! Welcome, Hermione!"

"Thanks, Lee."

"So, which is it for Dean Thomas, the microphone or the broom?"

"Well, I maintain he should decide that one himself."

"That's scandalous, Mrs. Weasley. After all those years and Ickle Ronniekins hasn't managed to woo you to the beauties of quidditch?"

"Don't call him that!"

"Alright, alright, I won't. Just please put your wand away. I don't need to be jinxed on live broadcast. I was saving that for the episode with Ginny, you know."

"Well, I'm sure that you've got one hell of a Bat-Bogey hex coming your way if she comes here. Anyway, there was a reason why you invited me here, wasn't there? It's not just another of your and George's practical jokes?"

"Of course, it isn't. I still can't believe you haven't listened to any of our previous episodes."

"Well, I've been busy."

"Busy with what?"

"The negotiations with the merpeople, of course. As I have told you...several times."

"Yes, of course. Let's just get to the point of our show. As you are one of the poor souls who haven't had the opportunity to listen to one of the broadcasts of our terrific show, let me introduce you to Footprints of War. A unique show, where we look back at some of the darkest parts of our history together with the main protagonists and finally offer the public an uncensored narrative of the events from the Second Great Wizarding War against Voldemort."

"That definitely sounds like an interesting idea."

"Ha, I knew it! You do realise that I am a genius at some level!"

"That's really not what I said."

"Anyway, Hermione, during those times you accompanied Harry Potter at almost every waking moment. If there's someone who can tell us nearly as much about the whole history of the last few months before Vodemort's downfall as Harry himself it's you."

"Probably yes. However there are things I know and won't say tonight. If and when they should be said is completely in Harry's hands."

"That's understandable; it's known that you have the loyalty of a Hufflepuff in you, Hermione. But let's talk about the things you can disclose. Where did it all start for you?"

"As I'm a muggle born, I'd say it started the day when Professor McGonagall came to our house to tell us that I'm a witch and then suddenly I was thrown into this completely new magical world. As for when the thing with Voldemort started? I suppose at the same point where it started with Harry and Ron for me. In the girl's bathroom at Hogwarts, where the two of them saved me from a giant troll. And then it just went on, each year at Hogwarts seemed to end in some kind of disaster, which was somehow connected to Voldemort."

"Which one was the most terrifying for you?"

"I think most people would expect me to say when I was petrified by the basilisk. But personally, I'd choose when Harry returned from the graveyard cradling Cedric Diggory's dead body in his arms during the Triwizard Tournament. It was horrible as it were when we didn't know what had happened, but learning that Voldemort was back made it ever more terrifying."

"You mentioned that you lived through similar events every year at Hogwarts. I don't think that our young fans who are attending Hogwarts at the moment can imagine what it was like. Could you give us a small recap of each year? Just in a few words."

"First year, there was Quirell who literally had Voldemort under his turban, trying to get his hands on the Philosopher's stone. We had to overcome a series of tasks to beat him to it. In the end Harry faced him."

"And he was what, eleven years old?"

"Yes. Then the next year there was the basilisk running amok around the school. And as already mentioned I was petrified by the basilisk for most of that year."

"Those who have listened during Care of Magical Creatures will know that looking into the eyes of a basilisk will kill you. How did you escape this fate?"

"Well, as there already had been others petrified before, I was making my research...and I had just figured out it was a basilisk, I had just left the library and I used a mirror to protect myself."

"Of course, you're not the cleverest witch of our generation for nothing, Hermione."

"You flatter me, Lee."

"Oh, I don't think so. So what about third year?"

"Hm, third year was about the marauders, Sirius Black who was falsely accused of betrayal and murder and Peter Pettigrew who was the one who was guilty. Also Remus Lupin, the DADA teacher who turned out to be a werewolf."

"But he was the best DADA teacher ever, wasn't he?"

"Yes, and one of the best men I have ever known. And a man who suffered greatly due to our communities prejudice to werewolves. Even though he was a victim himself, bitten when he was a mere defenceless child."

"But you have fought in order to improve the position of people like him in our society since the war ended. And you've been pretty successful."

"Well, we have made some progress and we have laws protecting them now. But it's all about the change in people's mind. And I don't think that's happened yet. And it's not just about werewolves, but also vampires, goblins, house elves...we still have miles to go."

"And I'm sure you'll put up the good fight on that path, Hermione. So, fourth year was the Triwizard Tournament and the year when Voldemort came back."

"Yes, there's not much more to say about that. Then the fifth year was maybe the craziest with all the secrecy. The Order of the Phoenix and then the DA."

"Yes of course. The DA. I think it would surprise many people to learn that the origin of the idea behind the DA came from your head. You're not the one they'd expect to break the rules."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. There's no point in adhering to the rules when it will likely kill you. I think it's very well possible that if it weren't for those lessons, fewer DA members would have made it out alive from that last battle."

"At the end of that year you took part in a battle against the Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic as Neville Longbottom has already told us."

"Yes, at the end of fifth year at the Ministry and at the end of sixth year there was the battle at the Astronomy Tower."

"The one where Dumbledore met his end."

"Yes."

"After the Death Eaters took over the Ministry, you, Harry and Ron did not return to Hogwarts for your final year. Instead you went on the road...doing what exactly?"

"That's not for me to say."

"Meaning that I should ask Harry."

"Yes."

"But whatever it was, it was necessary in order to beat Voldemort."

"Yes."

"Obviously you can't tell us much about that time. But I'm sure it must have been even more terrifying than the years of Hogwarts. Which moments haunt you the most up to these days?"

"First, the fear of losing people you love. I think everyone who lived at that time knows that fear and pain. Back then, I obliviated my parents' memories and sent them to Australia in order to protect them. As muggles they would have been an easy target for the Death Eaters. But the thought that I might never see them again never left me. Then, there is this other thing..."

"Which is?"

"At one point on our journey we got captured by the Malfoys and I had the pleasure of a one to one session with Bellatrix Lestrange. There aren't many people walking this Earth who escape her torture and those who do are not in the best of mental shapes."

"That must have been terrible... It's the most appropriate to end today's episode of Footprints of War with this dark piece of knowledge, so our future generations realise how dark the times used to be. Thank you for joining us, Hermione!"

"Thanks, Lee."


End file.
